It’s official, Victor can float. We brought him and Andrew to the pool in Hawkesbury last Monday, the lifeguard was kind enough to let us in a few minutes before the pool opened to the public, so I could take some photos of the event.

Unfortunately I rushed the shots, and the focus was off for all of them. But Victor’s smile is still there. Diane and I took turns helping him float, he’s not really impressed when his head gets wet but, with the help of a life jacket, he does like to bob around like a 17-pound cork.

He splashed himself, and his little legs were kicking madly, so he has already mastered treading water. I figure he’ll be a lifeguard in a year… maybe two.

Andrew, Diane’s oldest son, is getting more comfortable in the pool. The last time we went it took a little while before he’d leave the safety of the stairway into the pool. He’s 4.5-years old, so he still has to wear a life jacket while in the pool, but his leg kicks and paddling are really improving.

There was a tiny girl next to us who kept jumping into the water, sometimes over hoops, then she’d race to get out and do it again. Her father was only there as a witness, she was totally doing it all on her own. So I started to work on getting Andrew to do the same thing.

It took a little while — Andrew would be on the side trying to figure out if he’d survive the jump, and this little girl would jump in three or four times before he finally jumped.

After a little while Andrew was standing on the edge of the pool like he was getting ready for a 100-yard dash, then he’d explode into the air. He still gets nervous when he’s too far from the edge, but he loves jumping into the pool now.

Victor, meanwhile, had a hard time with his bowel movements this week. Like, a really hard time. I think it was just this past Saturday morning when he cried hard off and on for three or four hours, trying to pass a new flavour of mush we fed him earlier.

I think it was broccoli and cheese. I know there was cheese involved. I think that’s the last time for that combo.

Victor has also been having a hard time with his teeth. I suggested using “OraJel”, but apparently that’s a huge non-no. He also ran a fever for a day — which might have been weather related, and he has a slight rash between his legs. He’s been waking up earlier, and crying in his sleep, from the pain and just basically experiencing prolonged discomfort for the first time.

So we’ve been giving him the (very) occasional dose of baby formula liquid Tylenol.

Which seems to work great. We’re into another heat wave, so Victor’s having a hard time with that. I finally have an air conditioner, it’s meant for apartments without typical windows. I hooked the A/C exhaust up to the hole for the dryer exhaust, unfortunately that means the unit has to stay in the kitchen because the hose is only so long.

I had the thing running this afternoon, and there was a noticeable difference in the apartment within thirty minutes. It was 34C today (Sunday), and it’s going to be the same for a few days to come.

My girlfriend has a proper A/C unit in her apartment, which can be kept very comfortably chilled so Victor can bounce around at will. Until now I couldn’t have him here during a heat wave, because he wouldn’t be able to bounce around in his Jolly Jumper, or do much more than roll over, before getting heat exhaustion.

So, hopefully my electric bill doesn’t cripple the postman. It also has a remote control, so I can respect it as a technology.

Victor also experienced his first Canada Day fireworks and, like almost everything non-cheese related, he loved them. It took him a few moments, but he keyed in on the lights and sounds and watched them until the end with a look of amazement on his little face.

We watched them from my balcony along with Andrew, Diane and two of Diane’s friends. From my place we could also see the fireworks in Hawkesbury and L’Orignal… which is always strange. It’s like the explosions of light from that distance are completely out of context.

It’s like they were tiny explosions going off just feet away.

Andrew loves fireworks. I think any four-year old does, but he was screaming out “did you see that one?!”, “that one was my favourite!”, “no, that one was!”. It was hilarious, we could hear the neighbours laughing — the good neighbours, to the north of us, not the wicked gossipping idiots to the west.

My little brother was down for a few days, visiting and writing an exam which will — he hopes — lead him quickly to a job as a police dude. Victor was a little confused, but he and his uncle had a great visit.

My brother, who works for the Toronto Blue Jays, and his wife are having their first child in the next ten days… hopefully.

Overall this was not a great week for Victor, including a Canada Day BBQ lunch where everyone kept poking him and picking him up when all he wanted was to sleep, but he’s a tough kid.

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About Gabriel

I’ve lived in fifty-two places. I've been paid to pick stones out of fields, take backstage photos of Britney Spears, and report on Internet privacy issues. My photos have been published in several newspapers, and a couple of magazines.